Dragon Heart
by PhoenixKnite
Summary: A story about my character Isarla Dawnsong. Takes place during Cataclysm. This is the first time I've shared one of my stories so please give it a chance.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Its my first time sharing a story of mine so I hope you enjoy it.**

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Introduction- Her broken will

Isarla Dawnsong found herself surrounded by total darkness for the first time in a very long time. She knew exactly what was happening, that she was floating in the black abyss of death, and simply let the emptiness carry her through her life thus far.

She had lived a long and hard life to this point. And every point in her life thus far was met with a fiery will to fight on. Only now did she find it difficult to summon up that will. A will that was fueled by her pride in her own abilities, a sense of honor in serving the Horde, and a deep hate of those that had taken from her.

The first memory that came to her was a recent one. She was waking up in Deepholm after accepting the fact that she was going to be killed by the energies within her body. The remnants of Fel energy from her early life had always interfered with light within her, but with more training she had always managed to compensate for that weakness.

When she went to the Outlands however, that one little remnant had suddenly flared to life and threatened to consume her. It was only by her determination to control the energy that she was able to keep it at bay for so long. But it fed off her negative emotions and grew stronger, even after she left the Outlands and continued to serve the Horde.

But in Deepholm, in a place where she was surrounded by pure elemental energy, she lost her control over the battle within her soul and was going to be torn apart. Her determination would not save her, and so she she finally let go and prepared for the first time in her life to die.

It was only by luck that as she gave up and blacked out, she was found by Maruut Stonebinder. He truly did save her life that day, for he brought the chaotic energy within her under control by draining the excess from her body. And when she came to again, he told her to seek out the Earthen Ring should the Fel energy within her rise again, so it may be drained again.

It was the first time she felt as if she had failed herself. The first time in her life that she knew she would have to depend on someone else. Her pride was shattered.

Second, she saw the massacre at Thal'darah Grove, which took place years before Deepholm. Back then, she thought that the Horde had a deep sense of honor that every member was held to. Thal'darah changed that.

After Krom'gar destroyed the grove, she found herself conflicted. Sure, many Night Elves, who she normally considered her enemy, had been lost but technically they were all too young to be members of the Alliance. So hadn't she just killed a bunch of innocent children? Where was the honor in that? Why couldn't they have just taken the Night Elves captive? Why did they have to be killed?

And to make matters worst, the Cliffwalker clan, a Tauren clan and thus an ally to the Horde, had just about been destroyed by Krom'gar. The loss of life that day had been so great it continued to shock her to her core. It was the first time her honor as a member of the Horde had been shaken. And since then, her honor continued to be shook.

As she grew stronger, the tasks given to her Garrosh Hellscream grew darker. She eventually became the same as Krom'gar. She became a killer, the one Hellscream sent in when he wanted to ensure no one walked away but his men. And with that realization, her honor was corrupted.

Finally, she found herself back in Silvermoon as a child, breaking bones and tearing limbs in her training as a Blood Knight. The final source of her will, her hate, was strongest then because the wounds were the freshest then.

Her parents were killed by the Scourge and thus she despised Arthus, her brother driven to madness by Fel energy so she came the hate Kael'thas, and her one and only friend killed by a Night Elf sentry. She had been so full of hate then.

Now however, she found all her hate gone. She had played a role in the fall and death of both Kael'thas and Arthus. She had killed so many Night Elves now, it felt as if it had all lost meaning.

Her hate was sated.

And her will was broken.

And yet she had continued to fight on, for no other reason then because Hellscream kept calling on her. But she wanted it to end.

She wanted to stop fighting and just live a peaceful life like when she retired. She missed waking to the sounds of birds singing their morning songs. She missed sipping her tea out in the front yard and watching nature just run it course. She even missed the days where she found herself sparing with a group of misfit blood elf younglings because it was the only way to get them to leave so she could enjoy her peace.

Unfortunately though, the world was always at war and all it took was one group becoming a bigger threat then everyone else for the drafts to be reenacted.

Deathwing's rise tore her away from her comfy little shake on Sunstrider Isle and lead her back to Orgrimmar for her orders. She had been reinstated, received her old rank, and began doing the Horde's will again. She became a killer again.

And now, as she floated between life a death, she couldn't find the strength anymore to get up and fight again. She just wanted to rest. She wanted to hang her sword and shield up permanently. At least with death she could be free of the Horde. She knew death couldn't offer her the peace she wanted, as she would have to face her past and the sins it carried, but it was almost better to die and face those sins then live and let more sins pile onto the ones she already carried.

And so, she just gave up and let the darkness of death begin to take her. But just when she was about to sink completely to the darkness she felt something change. Something had a hold of her and was pulling her back towards the light, and further away from her death.

Confused at first, she tried to fight it and return to the darkness but she didn't have the strength.

Something else apparently had the will to save her regardless of her wishes. And Isarla would have a few words for them when she found out who they were.

But first, she needed to deal with the pain and the exhaustion she felt coming as she was brought back to her now broken body.

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**Author's Note: Please review and be honest with your opinion. Should I continue or just take this down?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you all for your support. I was hesitant to share at first but I feel more confident now. **

**Here is the second of the three introductory chapters. I did it this way so you (the reader) could see Isarla from different perspectives and thus feel more knowledgable of her. The first introduction was to see Isarla's life through her eyes, this chapter is how she is seen by someone who affiliates more with the Alliance, and the last is how she is seen by someone outside the two factions.**

**I hope that isn't too confusing but I thought it was a good idea.**

**Please enjoy this addition.**

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Introduction part 2- More then she is

Calen honestly couldn't come to terms with what his mother was thinking. His mother, The Queen of Dragons, had decided she was going to destroy Deathwing herself and said she needed help. Now normally, the Prince of the Dragons would assume that meant a meeting with the other Dragons to enlist their help. But for whatever reason, his mother had instead decided to reach out to a mortal.

And not the most chivalrous mortal either. Alexstrazsa had reached out to Isarla Dawnsong, a Knight-lord of the Blood Knight Order, Slyvannas Windrunner's 'Mad Dog', and Champion of Garrosh Hellscream.

On this Blood Elf's hands was enough blood to make Deathwing himself proud.

Her long line of blood shed supposedly began early in her life. Isarla was rumored to have been the deadliest Blood Knight Initiate Silvermoon had ever seen. It apparently wasn't uncommon for her sparing partners to leave the training ring broken both in body and mind. It was even rumored that she had so much potential that Lord Bloodwrath and Lady Laidrin, the heads of the Blood Knight order, took it upon themselves to oversee her training. Now most thought that the two insured her proper training but Calen had heard darker rumors that the two were purposely interfering with Isarla's training to ensure she would not over power them and take their place. And he could understand their worry.

Years later, she became the Banshee Queen's 'Mad Dog'. And it certainly was a fitting name to the legend.

It was said that she became the 'Mad Dog' during her stay at the Plague Lands where she would torture prisoners for information. Her methods were said to be so cruel and disturbing that the Forsaken would have thrown her out if Sylvannas herself hadn't intervened. Calen supposed that sick minds attracted each other and Sylvannas supposedly loved how Isarla tortured her prisoners. So, she became a favorite of the Banshee Queen and served under her for a few dark years before suddenly leaving the Eastern Kingdom and moving to Kalimdor. Where she became the plight of the Night Elves.

And despite the ever mounting tension between the Forsaken leader and Garrosh, she had somehow become Hellscream's most trusted Champion. In her service to him, and in the joint interest of uprooting the greater evils that forced the Horde and Alliance together, Isarla's name became renowned for her being a bloody machine that could level whole enemy encampments as she proved with her work in the Outlands and Northrend. And from this gruesome work, she was thus deemed an 'Honorable Hero' as she had served for both fractions then.

But Calen wasn't fooled.

The first time he had seen her, he saw what he could now describe her as an inferno bound by mortal flesh. Around her was an aura of such raw and chaotic energy that he briefly wondered if she truly was a Paladin. It almost felt as if a demon was approaching him instead and perhaps that was what she wanted. To strike fear in those who saw her. It certainly was a fitting image for a psychopath disguised as a sane hero.

Yeah...Some 'Hero'. More like a rabid dog whose master had her baring her teeth at something other then the Alliance for the past few years.

That was the person his mother was entrusting with her life. That was the person she was entrusting with the fate of the world.

And Calen couldn't believe it. His worry was well placed in his mind, but his mother wouldn't hear any of it. Her decision was made.

And so they went to battle.

Calen watched in horror as Isarla, astride a Vermillion Vanguard, mercilessly tore her fair share of Twilight Drakes to pieces. But what shocked him most was when his mother and Deathwing finally fell, Isarla instantly dove after the two and cut down any drake that decided to go after the weakened Dragon Queen. And once they were firmly on the ground, while Calen hurriedly to heal his mother, the blood elf stood near by scanning the skies for another Twilight Drake who was stupid enough to fly near her. He could see from the corner of his eye as the blood elf caught sight of a few enemy drakes and began firing off spells at the them for no reason then to kill a few more. And as this happened, he felt a deep sense of disgust rise in his chest.

Never-the-less victory was in the air and Alexstrazsa smiled up at her son before suddenly her grin fell as a rumble sounded behind them. Deathwing had survived and was determined to end them.

The corrupted Dragon Aspect took a breath to burn them alive and Calen threw himself over his mother to offer some protection. But he knew it was pointless as dragon fire was hot enough to burn flesh from bones in seconds and his body wasn't going to be enough to protect her. Still, he tried.

Deathwing released his fire and Calen felt the searing heat all around him. The roar of the flames were deafening but as the seconds ticked by, none of the hot tendrils came anywhere near him or his mother. It was only when Deathwing stopped breathing his fire that Calen understood why.

Isarla Dawnsong was everything he had heard and seen, the cruel and unmoving killing machine that lived only to find another battle to fight in. And yet, she was so much more. In the seconds before Deathwing's attach, she had thrown up as many holy shields as she could around the Dragon Queen and Prince while she summoning the most powerful Guardian she knew. She had risen her shield and stepped between the flames and the Lifebinder, somehow protecting the dragon from a fiery death.

And Calen just couldn't wrap his mind around it at all.

This blood elf, this one mortal his mother trusted for no apparent reason, had thrown herself at Deathwing.

And as the smoke and ash began clear, Calen stared in wonder at the burned back of the blood elf who he knew he could never understand.

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**Author's Note: So there is the second chapter. Please review and let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Here's part three of the introduction. After this the story plot will begin.**

**And thank you for pointing out that I had the wrong Hellscream. I'm sorry about that. I fixed it.**

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Introduction Part 3- The path to take

Alexstrasza watched in horror as Isarla jumped in front of the inferno aimed at her. The blood elf, so complicated and so lost in her latest hour, did not spare a second of time to consider saving herself. She had just thrown herself into the fires without thinking.

And as Calen loosened his grip, as he turned to try and figure out why they weren't dead, Alexstrasza felt her heart twist painfully as the flames began to die down.

Suddenly, she remembered the first time she had heard of this blood elf. It had been when Kalecgos returned from Azshara. The blue dragon spoke of a blood elf who had jumped to her death, just so she could speak with him in the spirit realm and convince him to help drive back the Black Dragonflight.

At the time she had been so shocked, she had laughed at the tale and doubted the elf would live much longer if she was as reckless as Kalecgos said. And yet, years later, she found that same elf standing before her at the Wyrmrest Temple. Isarla had greeted Kalecogos like an old friend and asked him about some girl before being charged with a few tasks by her fellow Dragon Aspects.

Through them, Alexstrasza watched Isarla and saw the dark energy within her. She wasn't exactly sure what it was growing within Isarla, but she was determined to find out. A few days after their first meeting, Isarla had gone to Angrathar to aid the mortals in taking down the Lich King. And as usual of late, Alexstrasza found herself looking in on the elf that kept on fascinating her.

It was because of this that Alexstrasza had seen what had happened at the Battle of Angrathar and come to the aid of the mortals, trying to save as many of them as she could from the Forsaken's new plague. Isarla had been lucky though, she had managed to stop the spread of the plague within herself with a very powerful cleansing spell.

After that, the two hadn't actually seen each other again, but Alexstrasza kept watch over the elf. And it was because of this that she saw Isarla's conflict, not just with the energy within her but with the duty she was held to.

She had seen the look on Isarla's face after receiving her orders. How every time she was ordered to kill or annihilate a group she would doubt the orders. Wondering if it what she was about to do was right or if she was just going to commit murder. She had even seen Isarla give the eleven sign of respect to a fallen adversary and wish them peace in the next life.

Even when Isarla 'retired' and returned to her birth place, Alexstrasza watched as the blood elf gave her time to train a young elves in weaponry. The ruthless killer had become another's master, and Alexstrasza was impressed by Isarla's compassion towards her students.

They all excelled and rumors passed from mouth to mouth in Silvermoon that the Knight-lord Isarla was raising her own crop of soldiers. The rumors had been met with curiosity and fear alike but the young elves proved to be of all sorts. A few were geniuses, but not to their masters level, and most were normal if not more adjusted to the swing of an experienced Paladin.

A few years into their class training however, and Isarla had to say goodbye to her pupils. She was being called back to war with the rise of Deathwing much to Alexstrasza's displeasure. She liked the teacher Isarla much more then the warrior but Isarla was needed.

Never-the-less Alexstrasza was worried.

She knew the elf had come to that point in her life when she would fall down one of life's two paths. Isarla would either loose herself to death and become a destroyer like Deathwing had. Or she would be saved from such a fate and become a savior like herself.

The two pathes were at Isarla's feet and Alexstasza had wondered which the elf would walk down. That had been why she had sought out the Blood Elf on this mission. To test her and see which path she would fall into.

Alexstrasza knew Isarla's past and knew her sins. But as she watched Isarla become consumed by Deathwing's fire, she saw Isarla's choice and watched hopelessly as a powerful and wonderful savior was destroyed before she had the chance to become that person.

And with that thought, rage suddenly filled the Dragon Queen. Deathwing had destroyed one of her best creations. One of her most complicated beings.

And she hated him for it.

"Neltharion!" She shouted as the smoke and ash settled. Isarla fell to her knees before the obsidian dragon and collapsing onto the ground face first.

Roaring in rage at the sight of the blacken elf, so close to liberation, Alexstrasza called upon the last of her strength and transformed back into her true form. She gave Deathwing one of her most hateful glares and charged the monster that had replaced her old friend.

Deathwing gave a long laugh at the Dragon Queen's behavior before taking off into the sky, knowing that her wings would not support the queen in flight after their earlier fight.

"The sun has set on this mortal, as it will set on the mortal world. Make peace with your end, for the hour of the Twilight falls!" Deathwing shouted at the Dragon Queen before flying up into the blackened sky and disappearing within its clouds. Glaring up at the spot he had disappeared, Alexstrasza gave a final roar of defiance before remembering Isarla and her sacrifice.

Turning to try and find the elf, she was shocked to find her son holding the blood elf and pouring his mana into her burned body. Walking over slowly, both in curiosity and exhaustion, she watched as her son tried to pour more and more mana into the obviously dead paladin.

"Calen. That's enough. She's gone." She said softly, knowing that no matter what her son did he could not save the elf. She could feel the mana just slipping out of Isarla's body, a sign that she was gone. Calen however did not respond, a bad sign if you asked Alexstrasza.

Growling lightly in her head, she went to pull him away by hooking his robe with her talon when she felt it.

The mana Calen had been recklessly pouring into Isarla's body had been just falling out as quickly as he forced it in. But now, now the flow of mana out of her body was slowing. Her body was beginning to retain mana. She was alive!

Calen had somehow crossed the boundary of life and death and brought this elf back to life.

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**Author's Note: That's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Again, from here on out the story will begin moving forward.**


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